Heart of Darkness †Metaphorical or Physical Journey? Essay

The worth of any fleshly travel can be measured by the value it has to the traveler by the psychological, moral and philosophical insight gained during the course of travel. This is especi everyy reas adeptd for a trip of such immense significance as the one undertaken by the narrator in Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness, Marlow, as he travels along the congo River in Africa. The symbolic importance of the Congo River is predominant through break the novella however, it is equally important to consider the role of the river on which the tale is told the Thames, the inwardness of the nation that dominated colonial expansion. Both rivers tenderise a plat traffic pattern of observation of their respective societies allowing Marlow to remain independent from these cultures and frankincense nurse his own moral compass.On a surface level, the Thames appears to be the epitome of tranquillity and civilization, as Marlowe sees it as cosmos calm, delay for the turn of the tide and being the centre of the biggest, and the greatest, town on Earth. However, Conrads multi-layered writing undercuts this view, as many descriptions of the Thames get to mortuary intensions, implying a depression of death on the river. For example, Conrad describes a mournful gloom, brooding motionless, the mite of stillness coupled with the gloomy tone creates a ashes- similar atmosphere. Even the images of at large(p) that Conrad employs are more(prenominal) or less negative in their more subtle meanings. He describes the torches of light (a metaphor for western Civilization) as being merely a flicker, which implies that the faade of culture and humanity is ephemeron in nature.The outset words Marlow uses describe his surroundings as and this too was one of the dark places of the earth, reminding listeners of the dark past, which is only partially and insubstantially covered. He then goes on to describe the robbery with violence and the modify murder on a great scale whi ch the Romans had committed in ancient Britain. Whilst the present reality demonstrates an apparent conquering of the darkness, Conrad implies a different message, as he mentions the toying of the bones (an early(a) name for dominoes do of ivory), which refers to the abominations committed by King Leopold II in the Congo abandon State, as he exploited the lives of African to further his own technical enterprise. This associates the Thames, which has supposedly defeated its darkness, with an constitutional evil, as it is at the centre of a culture obsessed with the conquest of the earth under the guise of deprive the ignorant millions from their ways.At the end of the novella, the primary narrator, who is listening to Marlows tale, begins to perceive the Thames leading into the warmness of an immense darkness, showing how the base has shaped his own moral, psychological and philosophical views. The mortuary images used to describe the Thames are repeated later on as Marlow re counts his visit to the family offices in capital of Belgium, which he describes as a whited entombment. The word whited implies a degree of artificiality in Brussels apparent pristine condition, whilst the word sepulchre has further associations with death. It is also a biblical allusion to the Book of Matthew 2327, in which Jesus exclaims Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites For you are like whited sepulchres, which on the outside carriage beautiful, but inside they are full of the bones of the dead and all kinds of filth. This allusion shows how the very European Marlow, has recognized a deep hypocrisy in his fellow countrymen, as the symbol of white (one of purity in Western civilization) is simply a faade to hide Europes inherent evil.This motif of white is repeated throughout the novel, especially in Brussels where Marlow mentions the starched white affairs of the Company uniforms, and near the end of the text describes the corpse like Intended as having a pale h ead, ashy halo and a fireplace of monumental whiteness. Marlow who is described as being in the pose of a meditating Buhhda sees a different connotation to the white (just as white is associated with death and mourning in easterly philosophy). Whilst Marlow sees and experience this hypocrisy first hand in Europe, on the Congo River, he observes an almost cinematic stream of images of temptation and sordidness, with the River acting as a moral buffer for him, as his perceptions of humanity and morality flip.This change in Marlows nature happens through the characterization of Africa as a living hell which Conrad (through Marlow) achieves by continual allusions to the Inferno in Dantes Divine Comedy, which details the personas own journey into the centre of the earth and through the nine rophys of hell. This is most effectively achieved when Marlow admits to his listeners I matte up as though, instead of spill to the centre of a continent, I were close to to set off for the cent re of the earth. This is paralleled when Marlow visits the company Offices and describes his assignment as going dead in the centre (again invoking deathly overtones), which also explicitly references Dante. uniform Marlows morals and philosophy, the allusion is developed throughout the journey, as Marlow observes the chaotic wakeful smash-up caused by the Europeans, and describes it as being in the gloomy circle of some Inferno, and showing how the river, acting almost as a slideshow for European corruption, helps change Marlows view of the morality of the Colonialists, who have dark Africa into a living hell.The allusion to Dante, whilst certainly the most obvious, offers only an observation and a result, not a cause for the corruption. The allusion to the Book of Genesis on the other hand, provides insight into why there is corruption present on the Congo. When Marlowe first describes the river, he likens it to an immense snake uncoiled, which references the Devil in the form of a snake, tempting Eve to take a quince from the garden of Eden. This allusion is more causal in its purpose, as it demonstrates the reason why the Europeans who have integrated into Africa (especially Kurtz and the station Manager) have been corrupted by the primal allurement of the unspeakable rites and satanic litany afforded to them by the jungle.Whilst Marlow is offered these things during his journey, morally he is able to maintain his distance, continuing as righteous through a continual lading to pragmatism and action. This is evidenced by his almost obsessive need for rivets to sterilize his boat so that he may continue his journey on the moral insulation of the Congo River, shielding him from any immoral temptations offered whilst ashore. On the other hand, people like Kurtz who have the river, find that the moral cladding provided by the faade that is European civilization is quickly stripped absent when they go ashore for a howl and a dance.Marlow explains this p henomenon of primitive reversion among the colonialists via the effect that he perceives the river to have, saying that travelling down the river was like travelling back to the earliest beginnings of the world with the fascination of the abomination modify the Europeans, especially Kurtz, who is debased to an animated image of death carved out of old ivory. Significantly, the current symbolically make the journey into the heart of darkness difficult, while the journey back is easy and rapid. In conclusion, the journey undertaken by Marlow on the Congo River, as well as his taradiddle telling on the Thames, much deeper significance than simply physical and geographical journeys, changing his perceptions of the morality and psychology of men. Conrad uses Marlows insights to influence the reader to plowshare in the enlightenment gained by the narrator.